Interview with Victoria Onofrei, Bloomsbury Radio, London; and, lavender petals

I was elated last month when Victoria Onofrei of Bloomsbury Radio sent me a message inviting me to an interview on her radio show. The interview was conducted a couple of weeks ago via Zoom. Victoria is a lovely host, and a delightful conversationalist. It was great fun.

In the interview we talk about #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, #1 Amazon Bestseller Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women, both published by Experiments in Fiction, my writing process, music, love, life, and much more.

The interview will air tomorrow, Sunday 9/25 at 6 pm BST, and 10 am PT USA.

You can access Bloomsbury Radio here.

I would be honored if you would tune in, thank you!


lavender petals

dreams
made out of lavender
and crushed rose petals

entice the tips of my senses

a river of feelings
flooding

the body with endorphins

releasing hope

through an atmosphere
often

choked
with despair

though

I
always
remember
love is in the air


Photo by designnox, Pixabay


Submissions are still open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. The submission details are located here.


Jeff Flesch

Author, #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow

Co-Author, #1 Amazon Bestseller, Wounds I Healed: The Poetry of Strong Women

Author of the Month, Jan/Feb 2022, Spillwords Press


#poetry, #bloomsbury-radio, #despair, #healing, #heart, #hope, #interview, #life, #love, #love-and-sorrow, #nature, #naturespeaks, #pain, #poem, #realization

#NatureSpeaks: 30 Poems in 30 Days โ€“ Day 1: Hot Ashes, by Benjamin Nambu

These same streets of love
You once roamed
With your head bowed
Stewing in the hot ashes
Of burnt hopes
In these same streets
You shall walk again
Head raised
As if to see what the narrow path
And heat were trying to reveal
Lessons and blessings, nestling
In ashes


Hot Ashes was inspired by the poem Butterfly Love. You can read more of Benjamin Nambuโ€™s poetry at greatbenji.business.blog, and also connect with him on Facebook here.


Photo credit : Gรกbor Adonyi, Pixabay.


Submissions for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration are still open. Please see the submission details here.



#poetry, #30poemsin30days, #ashes, #ashesm, #naturespeaks, #poem, #truth

The Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration Begins Tomorrow!

I am so excited by the response to the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration and the beginning of this initiative tomorrow.

As of today, Iโ€™ve received 18 gorgeous poems, and they all speak to my heart.

For now, I have decided to leave the submission window open. Therefore, if youโ€™ve not yet submitted, and would like to, please do so, following the submission guidelines here.

I will begin posting these beautiful poems tomorrow morning. All of the poems will be posted daily to this blog at 6 am PT (USA).

Iโ€™ve been so touched and moved by the poems received, I have written some poems inspired by these talented writers, which I will share over the next 30 days.

I hope you are ready for some heartwarmingly powerful poetry, as we have that in store for you!

I look forward to seeing you back here tomorrow morning. Thank you!


Submissions are still open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration. The submission details are located here.


#poetry, #30poemsin30days, #collaboration, #love-and-sorrow, #naturespeaks, #poem, #publication, #reflections, #submissions

sanguine love

emotions fill the sky
and my heart

with sanguine love
a pain, like an albatross

of hope and dismay
conjuring various realities

in some
Iโ€™m filled with anticipation
while in others

dread
is a constant companion

yet, itโ€™s in between them both
where
a mystery comes up

from the shallow river water, to the ice caps
of the tallest mountain
tops

the shadowed, and shaded land
where the push, and pull of lifeโ€™s paradoxes

gives each of us a welcoming hand


Photo by Nesrality, Pixabay


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.


#poetry, #awareness, #connection, #consciousness, #earth, #healing, #huamnity, #love, #nature, #pain, #paradox, #poem, #realization

Devotion and Care, Published at MasticadoresIndia

I am so pleased to announce that my poem, Devotion and Care, is now available at MasticadoresIndia. Thank you to Terveen Gill, and the team at MasticadoresIndia for their continued support, and for publishing this piece.

Devotion and Care

sometimes
we hold on too long

believing in that which we see

when in reality
everything worth knowing
lives underneathโ€ฆ

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!


Photo by romansolar, Pixabay


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.

#poetry, #awareness, #crearting-change, #disruption, #equity, #humanity, #life, #love, #masticadoresindia, #nature, #poem, #publication, #status-quo, #take-action

Glowing Sunrise, Published at Spillwords Press

I am excited to announce that my poem, Glowing Sunrise is now available at Spillwords Press. A big thank you to Dagmara K., and the whole team at Spillwords for publishing this piece, and for their continued support.

Glowing Sunrise

one, two, and three
are the stars
I count in the sky

there are so many more thoughโ€ฆ

I would be honored if you would go here, and read the rest of my poem. Thank you!


Photo by Fausto Garcia Menendez


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.

#poetry, #connection, #contemplation, #earth, #grateful, #humanity, #joy, #life, #love, #nature, #poem, #publication, #sky, #spillwords-press, #world-gratitude-day

the nexus

dark and light
a playful design

and entrance
into

a world seen, and unseen
where heart and mind

create the nature of reality

a savior

in between
the play of consciousness
and the depths of the sea

hidden
underneath the nexus of humanity


Photo by tommyvideo, Pixabay


Twitter #vss365 prompt words used: dark, entrance, play, savior. Follow me on Twitter here.


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.


#poetry, #consciousness, #darkness, #heart, #life, #light, #love, #mind, #nature, #nexus-of-humanity, #perception, #poem, #reality, #worlds

Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: New Reviews

Iโ€™m sharing a few more reviews today of #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow. I am humbled and honored by the beautiful words contained in all of the reviews my debut poetry book has received over the past two weeks. Such an amazing experience, all of this has been.

Here are the newest reviews.

Suzette Benjamin, of Suzette Bโ€™s Blog

5.0 out of 5 stars

ย A dance in poetic song!

Jeff Fleschโ€™s well-presented poetic ensemble Nature Speaks, vibrates human emotion with nature as its membrane.
It draws the reader into the connectedness between feelings and experiences in/with/among who we are and are becoming.
Jeff Fleschโ€™s talented gaze at human brokenness and the joy seeping
through love and life, lifts the reader through natureโ€™s lens unto fervent hope.
One of my many favorites from this adept collection resonates with this aspect of natureโ€™s parabolic lens; a lens that reveals what lies in oneโ€™s heart, bubbling up ever so gently, through a walk among the trees.
I found the following a summative glimpse into the poetโ€™s perspective, which I think the reader will enjoy. That nature is a reminder of the primal nature to which all life belongs. It is that place of respite from the shackles of the everyday grind.
Therefore the line in โ€œSelf Bloomโ€ which reads: โ€œI dance to the tune of the moon learning more about nature,โ€ does that for me. What imagery and solace abounds in that swath of poetry!
The reader will not be disappointed (O thomk) with โ€œNature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: Poems by Jeff Fleschโ€ either as a companion at the end of a day, or as an early morning meditation song.
Overall, I relished reading these poems as a โ€œdanceโ€ to the tune of natureโ€™s heart song wrapped in hugs.

Cassa Bassa, of Flicker of Thoughts

4.0 out of 5 stars

ย Nature gives us space to process our feelings and emotions.

The writer is connected to nature, the everyday wonders we often ignore. It provides a safe place to process at times complex emotions. Itโ€™s healing to read this collection of poems.

Elisa Bobbiesi, of @wildolivewrites

5.0 out of 5 stars

A restorative and uplifting collection

This enchanting collection of poems is filled with depth and heart. There is a softness, a hopefulness to his writing, even when expressing painful emotions. Intricate textures of nature are woven throughout, like meditations, reminding us to connect to and fully appreciate the world around us.

Kym Gordon Moore, of From Behind the Pen

5.0 out of 5 stars

ย A Dance with Nature

Jeffโ€™s collection of poetry reminds me of looking at nature and life through the lens of a child. The gifts of nature are ours to reflect on the majesty of life, caretaking, and living. His poems meander through the realms of imagination, creativity, and appreciation for the blessed gifts Mother Nature offers us. This book is like dedicating a love story to the amazing facets of the gems that nature beholds. You can find a piece of yourself throughout the morsels of stanzas offered in this collection.

Selma in Japan, of Selma

5.0 out of 5 stars

ย Poetry that moves youโ€“ makes you feel something like an overflow

In reading Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow by Author Jeff Flesch, at times, I moved like the wind susurrating to a tree; at others, my soul overflowed and crashed like a waveโ€” my heart pulsed excitedly and smiled. Could be the nature theme, could be the words.ย 
The words, yes, the words!ย 
The authorโ€™s words recalibrate heart and soul, and if I had to choose just one poem to encapsulate what I mean, it would be โ€œThe Oceanโ€™s Rocks.โ€ I love the ending line, โ€œlove forms the center of our poetry.โ€ย 
There is much sorrow in Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow by Author Jeff Flesch, but the author finds a way of stirring us out of that dark place and into the love that abides in nature. Kudos! As we all know, love is the thing that makes the journey whole and worth it.
The poems are short, but each packs a beautiful cadence in the brevity and simplicity of the authorโ€™s vocabulary. And the freedom in the lineation of free verse poetry added to its charmโ€” giving me time to visualize. This โ€˜permission to pauseโ€™ endeared me to this poetโ€™s crisp style.ย 
Each poem ends in a blissful place which translates to each ending putting me in a better place.ย 
So glad I purchased the printed format. Touching it transports me to a good place.ย 
In closing, it was hard to read this lovely poetry collection and not nod in agreement: the world would be a better place if we could all see through Author Jeff Fleschโ€™s eyes. I cannot wait to read more by this author.ย 
5-star. I highly recommend itโ€”Selma in Japan.

Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Suzette, Cassa, Elisa, Kym, and Selma. Your reviews touched my heart, and I am grateful to each of you.


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.

#1-amazon-new-release, #poetry, #book, #life, #love, #love-and-sorrow, #nature, #naturespeaks, #poem, #publication, #reviews

Butterflies in the Night

I sit on the front porch
considering
the moon, and the train
coming
down the tracks

I can feel it, the anxiety
the streets, and this sensation
not

missing a beat

Kinda like when you see a star
in the sky

you relate to it

itโ€™s a mirror image of you, and you know why

Life is like this at times
full of whispers of insight

We simply need to remain open
to

the butterflies in the night


Photo by ArtTower, Pixabay


Submissions are open for the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration, and will remain open until September 23. The submission details are located here.

#poetry, #anxiety, #awareness, #butterflies-in-the-night, #calm, #emotion, #feelings, #healing, #insight, #life, #love, #open-heart, #poem, #sensation, #senses, #stars

Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: New Reviews, and 30 Poems in 30 Days Begins on September 24

I am continuously humbled by the generosity and kindness of our loving community. I recently read two new reviews of #1 Amazon New Release Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow, and they both touched my heart.

Here are the two newest reviews.

New Reviews

Sadje, of Keep it Alive

Nature speaks of love and sorrow is the debut poetry book of Jeff Flesch, but Iโ€™m sure there will be many more!
Jeff is known for his beautiful poetry and is quite active on his blog on WordPress. Jeff is a kind, considerate and caring person whose poetry also mirrors his personality.
The poems are both profound and playful. They take you in and make you think and then some would also amuse and entertain you. A beautiful book which you will read again and again.
This book is available in Kindle and paperback as well. Do pick u your copy today.

Carol Anne, of Therapy Bits

I just bought and read this powerful poetry book by Jeff Flesch!
Jeff has done an amazing job with his new book! I loved the feel of this book!
Every word was relatable and spoke to my heart!
If your looking for a good poetry book, pick up this book! You wonโ€™t be disappointed!
The poems are all so heartfelt!
Its available on amazon in paperback and on kindle.
Thanks for creating this wonderful book Jeff! I look forward to reading more from you!

Such lovely words, and wonderful people. Thank you from the bottom of my heart, Sadje, and Carol Anne. I am deeply touched by your beautiful reviews.

30 Poems in 30 Days

We are one week and one day away from the Nature Speaks of Love and Sorrow: 30 Poems in 30 Days Collaboration beginning. The poems that have come in are diverse, and absolutely beautiful. I cannot wait to share them with you!

If you are still interested in submitting, please do. The submission details are located here.

Have a wonderful weekend!


#poetry, #30-poems-in-30-days, #book, #collaboration, #nature, #nature-speaks-of-love-and-sorrow, #poem, #poetry-reviews, #publication, #reviews